TongTong
Sign in

节哀 (jié āi) — (polite expression) to restrain one's grief (used to console someone in mourning)

Definition

A set condolence phrase used to urge someone in mourning to control their grief. Almost always appears as a fixed expression (节哀顺变), not a verb you'll conjugate freely.

verb
(polite expression) to restrain one's grief (used to console someone in mourning)

Examples

  • 节哀，。
    Qǐng jié āi shùn biàn, bǎo zhòng shēn tǐ.
    Please restrain your grief and accept the change; take care of yourself.
  • ，节哀。
    Zhè shí hou shuō shén me dōu méi yòng, zhǐ néng quàn tā jié āi.
    At times like this, nothing you say helps; you can only urge him to restrain his grief.
  • ，，。
    Jīng guò yí duàn shí jiān, tā zhōng yú jié le āi, chóng xīn zhèn zuò qǐ lái.
    After a period of time, he finally restrained his grief and pulled himself together again.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

节jiérestrain
哀āigrief

节 means to restrain and 哀 means grief, giving the polite idea of restraining grief.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺮Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
即
即jí節jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 節 pairs ⺮ (bamboo) with 即, which gives the sound; the bamboo part points to a node of bamboo. The simplified 节 is a later abbreviation.

Open 节 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
衣
衣yī哀āi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哀 combines 口 (mouth) with 衣 (yī), which gives it its sound.

Open 哀 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsGreetings & Politeness

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.